Up, down, turn around
by asitiswhenitwas
Summary: Remix of the episode “Shadow Dance.” Scott took Kurt seriously when “the fuzzy dude” predicted Jean would invite him to the dance, and turns Teryn down. A bittersweet evening at the mansion. RogueScottJean makes for a bizarre love triangle


**Title:** Up Down Turn Around.  
**Series:** X-Men Evolution.  
**Ownership Disclaimer:** Marvel/WB own it... I'm just playing.  
**Rating:** PG-ish.  
**Characters: **Scott/Rogue; Scott/Jean; Ensemble.  
**Summary:** Remix of the episode "Shadow Dance." Scott took Kurt seriously when "the fuzzy dude" predicted Jean would invite him to the dance, and turns Teryn down. A bittersweet evening at the mansion. RogueScottJean makes for a bizarre love triangle.  
**Note**: Scenes altered where necessary, and others scenes cut because I really didn't want to re-write the entire episode in places where I'm not adding anything new… or I'm just lazy.

---

Exterior; Bayville high. It's lunch hour and three familiar boys are sitting around a picnic table discussing concerns for the upcoming Sadie Hawkins dance. Evan Daniels and Kurt Wagner sat opposite one Scott Summers who had just recently talked Kurt off the ledge regarding his date. Behind him the girl of his dreams, his best friend, Jean Grey strode determined toward their table. Scott was excited when Evan pointed her out to him. Kurt had spent the better part of the day trying to convince Scott that Jean was going to invite him to the dance, and, though he knew better (I mean, come on she has a boyfriend) he still got his hopes up.

"Hi Scott, will you like go to the dance with me?" Teryn, one of Jean's friends excitedly blurted out as she placed a hand on his shoulder and took a seat next to him, sneaking up on him while he was looking back at Jean.

"Um… Uh…" A vocalized pause all he could muster as he looked back nervously at Jean. She stopped in her tracks as she saw Teryn, a look of shock, and then she headed off in another direction. Scott had a pretty good idea where she was going.

At a table a few feet away, Rogue and her friend Risty were watching the scene unfold. "Looks like you just lost your shot girl… Scotts been snagged."

"Doesn't Matter; Ah wasn't going anyway…" Rogue replied looking down and away from Scott's table.

"Want to go to the dance anyway? There is no one I'd like to ask but I'd still like to go…"

Rogue stood up turning around quickly and started to walk away. "Sorry… not my scene."

"Um, Uh..." More vocalized pauses as Scott tried to regain his composure. "Look, I'm sorry… I just… Sorry." He stood up quickly, talking off in the direction he saw Jean going; leaving Teryn looking down and biting her lower lip sitting with a confused Kurt and Evan. Scott slowed down as he approached the 'jock table' which, is unfortunately where he saw her, sitting next to that jerk Duncan Matthews.

"Jeeze Jean, you had me worried there for a minute… it will be great, I rented a limo and…" Scott stopped in his tracks, clenched his left fist tightly, and turned around slowly returning to his table.

"Scott… are you okay?" As Scott returned to the table, Kurt placed his hand on Scotts shoulder. Scott violently shook it off.

"Don't touch me blue…" An uncharacteristic level of venom in his voice as Scott walks off toward the parking lot.

---

Rather disappointed that Scott did not accept her invitation to the dance, Taryn's friends were trying to make her feel better the only way they knew how; putting down Scott repeatedly on their walk home.

"Ugh, I can't believe that."

"Who does he think he is? And what's with those sunglasses all the time…"

"It's weird isn't it?

"I… Don't know… he seemed devastated when he got back to the table… oh? Hi Jean…"

The girls passed Duncan Mathews car as Jean was buckling her seatbelt, she turned and shot Teryn an Ice could stare. Her friends could only muster a question.

"What was… that about…?"

---

The day of the dance Scott spent the entire afternoon alone in his room, either reading or staring aimlessly at the ceiling while listening to music. He leaned over to look at his alarm clock. 7:30pm. the dance started a half an hour ago, and he assumed the house was empty, save for the professor and Logan who, at last check, were in the professors office working with Forge on his device to enhance Kurt's teleportation ability. He headed downstairs for a quick snack, obliterating the granola bar in a matter of seconds. He opened the refrigerator reaching for a soda. He usually drank Dr. Generic, but he grabbed one of Kurt's more expensive cherry cola's instead, paying no mind to the post-it note that clearly labeled it as Kurt's property… a subtle form of payback. He didn't notice her enter the room.

"Oh, ah, hey Scott… Didn't you head to the dance with the others?" Rogue asked nervously.

He handed the can in his hand to her, and then reached in for one of his own, closing the refrigerator, and heading toward the stairs. He impressively mustered a smile as he walked past her. "Actually I'm not going."

She followed him to the staircase, both ascending toward the dormitories. "Oh? Ah thought Teryn invited you?"

"I… er… graciously declined." He opened the door to his room "What about you?" he opened the can and took a sip.

"Ah asked first." He looked down, took three steps into his room, placing the soda can on his nightstand then collapsing onto his bed, staring at the ceiling. She followed tentatively. "…What's wrong?"

"Honestly…" his voiced trailed off while forcing a smile.

"Honestly." She replied, taking a step or two into his room looking him over.

"'Trust the Fuzzy dude' he says… 'I know these things' he says…"

She turned around. "Ah think ah know where this is going."

He looked over at her. "It's just… I knew. I was prepared for it. It was inevitable that she was going with him. They've been dating for a few months now… I knew it. But that little blue German fuzz-ball just had to get my hopes up."

"Scott…"

"Look… Sorry. It's not a big deal." He sat on the edge of his bed and took another sip. "Your turn."

"Well…" She turned back around leaning against the door frame, biting her lower lip, and trying not to make eye contact. "Last time ah danced with someone…"

"He ended up in a coma…" he interrupted her. "Yeah, I remember that. It still bothers you that much?" He caught her eyes through the dark lenses of his ruby quartz glasses.

"Well, yeah… how couldn't it?"

"You're sure your not just using it as an excuse?" Hiding behind it?"

"Hiding!?" What…."

He raised a hand to try to cut her off again. "That came out wrong…" he took a deep breath. "Let me put it this way… It's easy to come up with a reason not to do something. If you really wanted to, you could pretty much have your pick of the guys at school and get through the night incident free if you were careful, couldn't you?" She laughed out loud, surprising him. He didn't think he said anything funny. He was never good at telling jokes anyway.

"heh.. mah pick huh?" she laughed again, his eyes narrowed a bit.

"Ok… my opinion. Yours may differ, but the point is the same. You are afraid of what your power can do out of control. I live with the same nightmare. Trust me, of everyone else here, I understand."

"Scott…"

"The question is; are you going to control your powers, or let them control you." She bit her lower lip again.

"It's not that simple…" She turned around and headed down the hall towards her own room.

He got up and followed her into the hallway. "Look." He caught up to her, placing a hand on her shoulder "I understand… If you need to talk…"

"Yeah… sure…" They headed in opposite directions.

---

Scott collapsed on his bed again, looking over to his desk seeing a picture of himself with Jean. His eyes traveled down to the locked drawer of his desk. A light bulb flipped on in his head, he'd just gotten a crazy idea. Unlocking the drawer, he pulled out a generic CD jewel case with a data DVD-R inside labeled 4J.

"Okay… so music…" he looked over his CD collection, having just changed into his battle uniform. He pulled a few CD's off of the shelf, unplugged his compact disc player, and headed downstairs.

Rogue had been half in tears by the time she reached her room. She dropped to her bed like a stone staring out the window. She had shifted into a comfortable position and pulled out her diary. After only a few minutes writing she was surprised by a knock on the door.

"…Yeah?!" Scott was on the other side of the door, a half grin, and in his battle uniform.

"Hey… I got a dumb idea… 10 minutes. Danger-Room. Battle Togs."

She sighed slightly. "An extra training session for the social outcasts?" He replied to her question with a light shrug.

"Perhaps… be ready for anything." His smile softened, shifting out of his fearless leader tone. "Trust me." He left noticing a smile on the corner of her lips.

---

Seven minutes later he was leaning against the heavy steel doors to the danger room, looking down at his watch.

"Three minutes" He was hopeful that she would like this, of all the students at the mansion, he was perhaps the most likely to understand how she feels about her powers. Her battle uniform had very little exposed skin, and should be flattering under the illusion. He smiled a bit looking down at the danger room remote control in his left hand. _She better like this…_

"…hey?" She was making her way down the hallway.

"A minute early… cool." He opened the door.

"Alright… what's this all about?"

"Don't you trust me?" he ushered her into the battle training room.

"Not when you are all sneaky like this."

"Fair enough…" There were a few scattered set pieces "blocks" used to build illusions but they looked as if they were set up for a living room, rather than a combat situation. Scotts CD player, two glasses and a Picher were set up on a table in the corner. The observation room was empty; Rogue noticed this and pointed it out.

"Where is the professor? Shouldn't he or one of the instructors be monitoring this?"

"He's in his office, working with forge… that teleportation enhancement thing? Forge still hasn't given up on it even though Kurt has." He made his way across the room to the table in the far corner. "Don't worry this is a 'limited contact' workout…"

"Ok what the heck are you up to!?" She turned around and started to walk away from him… he reached out and took a hold of her arm with one hand while turning on the simulation with the remote control causing a sophisticated array of lasers and hard light to bend and shape the room into his own design. The complex computer system has transformed the cold steel room into a warm and inviting replica of the mansions common room. The flat oppressive fluorescent lighting was replaced by hundreds of candles and a roaring fire. The set blocks 'became' the room's furnishings. Their battle gear transformed as well, his becoming a black Tux; open, with a white shirt unbuttoned at the neck and casually un-tucked, a yellow bow tie, untied, around his neck. Hers changed into a beautiful yellow dress, matching elbow length gloves, a single red rose pinned to the fabric just above her heart.

"Oh… Wow…" She hadn't noticed the change in her clothing yet as she walked around the room… "This is… wonderful…"

"Just something I tinkered with a few nights when I couldn't sleep." He swapped his battle visor with a pair his more casual ruby quartz glasses. She smiled at him.

"Tinkered eh?"

She noticed the little things. Each crackle of the fire was audible and sounded natural. Each of the candles actually 'burned' the wax melted differently on each one. He even programmed the faint aromas of each candle and the fires burning embers. Tinkering didn't even begin to describe it… Lovingly handcrafted was more like it. At least 2-3 hours in the control room every evening after lights out last summer, without school he could sleep in, allowing more programming time. He had gotten this far before Jean started dating that jerk Duncan which, as it turns out, is why he never got around to adding the string quartet, forcing him to settle on a CD player.

"Well, I figured…" having pressed play on the CD player, he started back toward the fireplace where she was standing. "If you can't go to the dance… why not bring it to you?"

"Scott…" _Wow…_ was her only thought.

"May I have this dance?" he extended his hand.

"Ah… "She blushed furiously and turned away for a moment. "Y-Yes." They swayed across the room in relative silence during the first song arms around each others waists. She stared… she assumed. Into his eyes, the low light and dark glasses added an air of uncertainty. He noticed that her smile seemed to be the most genuine he'd ever seen from her. Matching her smile, a memory returned to him. Weeks ago, at a picnic table in the quad. Practicing lines for a project they were both rather disappointed to be paired up on. Though he had suspected that NOBODY she could be paired up with would have made her willingly quote Shakespeare… Inspired, he started.

"Fair Katharine, and most fair, will you vouchsafe to teach a soldier terms such as will enter at a lady's ear and plead his love-suit to her gentle heart?" A little surprised that he remembered… struggling to remember the next line she continued.

"Your majesty shall mock at me; ah cannot speak your England." He smiled a bit, equally surprised that she remembered as well.

"O fair Katharine, if you will love me soundly with your French heart, I will be glad to hear you confess it brokenly with your English tongue. Do you like me, Kate?"

"Pardonnez-moi, ah cannot tell vat is 'like me."

"An angel is like you, Kate, and you are like an angel."

"An angel… Ah'm sorry… Ah don't remember the rest…" a nervous smile.

"I'm shocked that I remember that much myself." A comfortable silence grew between them, as they continued to sway together as the song changes.

---

Jean shot one heck of an angry glance to the refreshment table. Her date has spent the better part of an hour standing around the punch bowl talking football with his jerk friends. She was disappointed that her boyfriend was paying more attention to a story about how great last years homecoming game was than her beautiful low cut dress. She was angry that they have been here for an hour and have danced once. Because of the first two, she was no longer shocked at how much she wished she had invited someone other than Johnny Football Hero.

Shock set in when she saw Teryn, the girl she assumed had poached Scott the previous day, and whose forwardness with him on earlier occasions concerned her. _Because he's my best friend_ she tried to convince herself, yet to come to terms with her feelings for him. Scott himself was no where to be seen. Teryn walked into the room on the arm of Paul, Scott's nondescript human friend. It was about that time that Risty approached her.

"You look like your having a ball… buyer's remorse?"

"Huh? Oh… Duncan… It would be nice to dance once before the night ends… Have you seen Scott? I thought Taryn invited him."

"Oh yeah… she did, but Scott totally flaked, he apologized, got up, and walked away. Came back to the table like 5 minutes later, almost ripped Kurt's arm off… Like… Seriously disturbed… have you seen Rogue? She said she'd reconsider blowing off the dance but it appears she didn't give it much thought…"

Jean at this point could care less where, or what Rogue was doing. She hadn't heard a word since 'kurts's arm.' She didn't have long to digest this information, because before long all hell would break loose.

---

"So…" Scott broke the silence between them, the song changed again. "Why not?"

She looked up at him quizzically. "Why not what?"

"'Mystery guy…' I know you wanted to go to the dance, I wont ask who. It's none of my business who you wanted to ask… I'm just wondering why not?"

She sighed slightly, placing one hand on his left shoulder, tightening her grip around his waist, resting her head on his chest. "Ah… Ah just couldn't have dreamed that he wouldn't have a date ah suppose…" _I couldn't tell yah how glad ah am that he didn't…_"and as we already covered… you know… the whole no touching thing…"

"I understand." He smiled slightly. "I'm not sure I could trust someone who didn't know. I mean, about the glasses. If someone grabbed them or knocked them off… heh, they'd certainly be seeing things from a different perspective…"

"Scott Ah…" She raised her head and stared into his eyes… she hoped… "Ah can tell… who you built this for…" She took a quick glance around the room, then back to his eyes. "Ah don't need to be a telepath to tell that…" She was quite observant, and couldn't help but noticed the dress he programmed was yellow. "But still…." She laid her head back on his chest "Thank you…." A contented smile on both parts, his right hand rose to clear a few stray strands of hair from her eyes.

"I'm glad you like it…" he said softly.

"Ah love it…" she replied, almost under her breath. She was listening to his heart beat with one ear; the song she'd swear she had heard before but couldn't quite place it tickled the other. _Heaven…_ she thought. She desperately wanted to raise the hand currently poised on his shoulder to his jaw. Caress it with her bare hand. Stand on her toes and stare deeply into his eyes for a moment before taking his lips for her own, to steal his tongue, to sound a cadence to arms in a crusade for his heart.

Moments like this she came to hate her mutation; everything she wants within her grasp. It's a numbing realization that it would elude her, perhaps forever. Momentarily she wished it all away. To have been normal; a simple dream… No gloves – No power siphon – No one else's memories confusing her own - No bitter wall of angst keeping everyone. Her Enemies, Friends, Loves, as far away as possible. If she could just be normal… _ If…_the word stuck. _If… ah was normal…_She wanted to forget it. _If… _She just wanted to think about now. Scotts arms, his smile, the sound of his heart. _Him…_It finally hit her. If she was normal she never would have me him… She sighed deeply, closing her eyes.

"Scott…" her voice trailed off.

Scott however was busy in rapport with Professor Xavier. He had noticed the strange glow a few minutes ago, and now, what looked like a claw was trying to pull its way through a tear between dimensions.

_/Professor, its Scott… There is an emergency in the danger room./ _He ordered his thoughts calmly, carefully, and clearly. Not wanting to point out the intruders' presence to Rogue; her thoughts could interfere with his rapport with the professor; and besides, the look on her face… This might be the happiest he's ever seen her.

/_What is the situation?/_

_/Don't tap Rogue; I think she needs her privacy. Remember the video Kurt shot in that other dimension? One of those monsters is working its way through./_

_/I see… Logan and Forge are on their way, Forge fears that the device he created to slow down Kurt's Teleportation must have hindered his ability to close the gates./_

_/Wait… if they can get through here./_

_/Anywhere he teleported using the device is at risk./_

_/Forge's lab and… Oh God! The Dance!!!/_

_/Calmly Scott… Once you have dealt with this one, the four of you must hurry to the dance; I cannot contact the others from here./_

_/Dealt with sir?/_

_/Forge is working on a way to send them back. Logan is pulling the X-Van and your Car around front. Forge assures me that he will have his Trans-dimensional projector ready in moments./_

_/Understood, we'll hold it off until Forge is ready./ _

"Rogue…" He shifted from his warm inviting tone to his 'Cyclops: Field Commander' voice, though a bit softer. Not wanting to spark the interest of the beast, mere seconds from forcing its way through. "Stay calm. Turn around. Don't say anything. This is one of the demons from Kurt's alternate whatever… When he forces his way through I'll blast it into the corner. If I can't hold him you know what to do." She nodded silently. _Where the hell is forge with that…. Whatever the hell he's doing… Damnit._ The carnage that would ensue at the dance was a given at this point; but he knew Jean was there. At any time one of those things could appear and… A million 'what if' scenarios ran through his mind... he tried his best to block them out. Jean was as tough as nails; she could handle herself… but…

_/How long professor?/_

_/Thirty Seconds. Then make your move. He will be ready./ _

_/NO TIME/_ Before the Professor could finish it had escaped. The monsters freedom was temporary as within a matter of frames. Scott's right hand rose to his glasses, releasing a crimson beam of absolute force driving it through the table and hard into the corner. It winced in pain.

"Well, I'm going to need a new CD player." _20 seconds..._ He was unsure if he could keep it pinned long enough for Forge to finish whatever the heck he was up to. "The album will harder to replace though…'bout time!" The door opened behind him. Forge ran in, took aim, and sent the demon back to where it belongs. "Impressive…"

"I modifie-" Forge started to explain, but was quickly cut off by a furious Scott.

"Stuff it. If anything happens to her I'l-" This time he cut himself off. "Any collateral damage is on your head." He turned to Rogue, whose smile had faded by this point. "Rogue, we change into civvies. Regroup out front."

---

_He's just trying to be the fearless leader… but… the way he said her…_Thoughts raced through her head as she leaned against the hood of Scott's convertible. Shockingly enough he was the last one to make his way out front. He was wearing pair of khaki's and a certain blue striped sweater. Bypassing the door he leaped into the driver seat.

"Rogue, Forge, you ride with me. Logan, you take the X-Van around the back, park out of sight, come in through the locker room." He started the car waiting for Forge and Rogue, who had changed into her traditional green and black, to strap in.

"Who put you in charge kid?!" Logan grumbled, perhaps disappointed by his lack of screen time.

"The Professor." Scott replied while peeling out, leaving a long skid mark along one quarter of the circular driveway.

---

"With any luck we'll get there before anything happens." Never lower than 20 miles per hour over the speed limit, Scott worked on putting all his personal feelings aside while piecing together a plan. "Work our way into the gym as fast as possible. Crowd control… pull a fire alarm; anything to clear the room without using powers… unless necessary. Clean up there, and then head to the lab." A forced half smile as he turned to Rogue. "Simple enough eh?" He slammed on the breaks noticing a panicked crowd at near riot levels pouring out of the gym exits. Putting the car into park, the trio fought their way through the crowds, looking for the least packed exit.

"Evan! watch your back!" Jean telekinetically threw one of the two monsters into the wall hard, Evan turned and unloaded a volley of spikes into the seconds gaping maw causing it to recoil, tripping over the rift in the ground earlier created by lance. Kitty took the opportunity to jump on its back. Scott, Rogue, and Forge finally forced their way upstream and into the now mostly deserted gym, seeing only their team-mates, lance, and a few students who had either fainted or were knocked out.

"Jean, throw Kitty's mark into the wall as hard as you can… Kitty, phase it half way through and get the heck out of there!" Scott commanded before letting loose with a full power blast into the side of the first monster's head driving it hard into the folded up bleachers. Kitty left the second monsters head phased through a wall, and took up a defensive position behind jean. Logan, busting through the locked door to the boys locker room dove across the room tackling the monster Scott had just blasted, driving a claw into its shoulder, before getting kicked off of it by its strong hind legs. "Rogue, siphon the power out of that one! Evan, its legs are still moving, cover her!" The first monster fully shook off the effects of Scott and Logan's attacks, and pulled itself out of a pile of debris. Lance sent a wave of seismic force across the floor causing the ground below the first monster to cave in. Rogue pulled off her glove, and touched the second's bucking leg. Drawing enough force to incapacitate it, however the initial buck from its remarkably powerful leg sent her flying the across shorter length of the room. Jean caught her telekinetically moments before slamming into the bleachers on the other side of the gymnasium.

"Forge! Your turn, everyone else fall back." Forge took aim and fired as the first monster pulled itself out of the cave in, eliminating the second soon after.

"Alright, let's get to my lab!"

---

"Come on porcupine, your riding with me…"After eliminating the final monster in the hallway, and checking to make sure Forge's lab was clear; Scott, Jean, Rogue, Forge, Logan, Kitty, and Evan were walking back toward the gym. "You tore your suit to ribbons in that fight; you would raise too many questions from the civilians…" Logan continued as he led Evan out the back way. Forge followed them, not needing any of the lingering students asking him about the Trans-dimensional projector; and giving small consideration to Scott's mood toward him earlier in the evening.

"Ok, so… who needs a ride home?" Scott asked; a half smile as he scanned the eyes of the three girls.

"Like ok!" Kitty chirped.

"Sure…" Rogue trailed off. Scott's eyes fixed on Jean.

"Bad night?" he had a sense about these things. He could read her relatively well after so many years.

"Scott Summers… Master of the obvious." She shrugged lightly, looking away from his glasses.

"Did the date go bad before or after the ravenous monsters from another dimension crashed the party?" He put a hand on her shoulder with a soft smile. "I was worried about you, everything all right?"

"Fine…" a light blush as she brushed his arm off her shoulder.

"Do you need a ride home?" He finally caught her eyes again.

"I… I should find Duncan…" she turned away…

"Sure… At least it's a nice dress." She looked back at him with a smile before heading off. "Call me for a ride if he ditched you!"

---

"Last stop." Scott stopped the car in front of the institute's main entrance; letting Kitty and Rogue out.

"What was with lance? He totally ditched me there." Kitty said exiting the car.

"You should call him." Rogue called out to her, as the younger girl disappeared into the venerable mansion. Walking around the front of the car, leaning against the driver side door Rogue looked up to the sky.

"The sky… it's so clear…" He looked up as well. "So… beautiful…"

"Yeah… Scott Ah…" She turned a bit, looking down at him over her shoulder.

Ah just…" She sighed slightly… Wondering if he had any idea of the effect he had on her. "Just… Thanks. For tonight. It meant a lot to me…" She turned around, covering his mouth with the palm of her gloved left hand. Leaning down she kissed the back of her hand softly. _No… of course not…_ she thought to herself as she traced his jaw with the back of her gloved hand before turning around and slowly walking to the front door…

**Temptation.**

**(As it is when it was.)**  
Thank you for reading. Reviews are adored.


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